What's Mine is Yours
by missgrace114
Summary: Jo ends up staying Mac for a bit, what will they cope having to live under the same roof together and will their feelings for each other come to the surface?
1. Chapter 1

Part One

It was Thanksgiving and the whole team were getting together for dinner at Sheldon's apartment. He had recently moved in with his girlfriend and college friend Camille and they were all looking forward to spending some time together out of work.

Jo was just out of the shower when she heard her phone ringing. She sat down on the bed and smiled as she saw Mac's caller id flash up on the screen.

"Hello." Jo said happily.

"Hi, it's me, just wondered whether you wanted a ride to Sheldon's, save you driving or wasting money on a cab?" Mac asked her. He was already dressed and ready to go, so thought he'd call Jo and see if she needed a ride.

"Umm yeah that'd be great, what time were you thinking about because I'm only just out of the shower, Ellie isn't very well so I've packed her off to my Mom's in DC." Jo said trying to towel dry her hair.

"Well I'm already so I could just come over and wait for you?" Mac asked her, he had no idea why he was so desperate to see her, he'd literally only said goodbye to her at work a few hours ago!

"Yeah ok, door is unlocked if you wanna just come in?" Jo said grabbing her dress out of the closet; this was going to have to be the quickest change in history!

"How many times have I told you not to leave your front door unlocked, didn't your neighbour get robbed only last week?" Mac told her, he wished she was more worried about her own safety, let alone Ellie's.

"Yes…but that turned out to be her crazy Grandson who just wanted to steal her jewellery for drug money, I don't think he'll be coming round here anytime soon." Jo chuckled.

"Well ok… I will see you in about twenty minutes." Mac said.

"Ok, bye." Jo said putting her phone back on the bed and running into her bathroom to dry her hair. Once it was all dry and straight she slipped her dress on with ease, and then sat down at her dressing table to do her makeup.

Mac was now on his way to Jo's and he found himself humming along to the radio! He stopped and thought to himself when was the last time he'd done that, just let himself go and hummed to the radio? He knew that his feelings for Jo were changing every day, especially when she was in a flirty mood, which by Jo's standards was quite a lot. When she had first started flirting with him, he'd been a bit uncomfortable but strangely flattered, then as he got to know her more he realised she did that with everyone, it was just part of her irresistible southern charm, but gradually as the weeks went on, her flirting with him stepped up a gear and he would find himself staring at her when she wasn't looking or their hands would instantaneously reach out to touch each other without them knowing it, like when they'd walk past each other he would always end up walking a bit closer to her so he could run his hand across her lower back or she would touch his shoulder, whatever they were doing it was becoming quite confusing as to where their feelings lay, but all Mac knew was that it must mean something if his heartbeat increased in his chest every time he saw her.

Jo had finished getting ready and was now in the kitchen getting a glass of water before Mac arrived. She had no idea why she was nervous, it was only Mac for goodness sake, her good friend and boss Mac. Except lately he was all she thought about, when she'd first started working at the lab she loved how easy he was to wind up and how uncomfortable he got with her flirting, but as the weeks went by he responded to the flirting with his own, and gradually they got to where they were now, unexplainable touching! The other day he walked past her as she was talking to one of Don's officers and he ran his hand over her lower back. He'd apologised as if he'd just walked into her, but out the corner of her eye she'd seen him approaching and moving over so he was lined up with her body so he would clearly walk straight into her. The way her whole body tingled as he touched her was unbelievable, and trying to hide how much she enjoyed it was even harder! Just thinking about it was getting her hot again, so she grabbed a glass and went to turn the tap on when suddenly water flew out everywhere, spraying all over her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She put her hands over the tap but it just sprayed over her even more, and she now couldn't see from all the water in her face, all she could do was scream and hope someone would hear her!

Mac had just stepped out of the elevator when he heard screaming; he ran up to Jo's front door and was horrified to hear it was coming from her. He withdrew his gun and burst through the door, expecting to be met by an intruder, but was shocked to see a very soaking wet Jo struggling to stop the water that was bursting out of the tap. He ran over to her to help her.

"Oh my god, Mac, I can't stop it!" Jo said trying to stop coughing.

"Have you got a wrench?" Mac shouted to her over the water.

"Yeah under the sink would you believe?" Jo said grabbing a towel and plugging it over the tap.

Mac found the wrench and managed to stop the water flow from the pipe under the sink.

"There, are you ok?" Mac asked her standing back up.

"Ummm yeah I think so, oh my god Mac thank you, I don't know what happened, one minute I was trying to get a glass of water the next I am paddling down Niagara Falls!" Jo chuckled

"Oh lord look at me, I'm soaked!" Jo said looking down at her very wet dress; god knows what her hair would look like, oh and her face!" Jo thought, worried what Mac would think.

"You look fine, in fact I think I like you wet!" Mac chuckled, hoping if he made a joke out of it, it would hide how he thought she looked amazing wet, and that all that water and only sufficed to make her dress cling to her body in all the right places!

"Ha Ha very funny!" Jo said hitting him with the towel; she was interrupted with someone knocking on her door.

She padded out of the kitchen and went to open the door and was met by the building's janitor.

"Ms Danville? Have you had a problem with your water?" the old man asked her.

"Well how did you guess!" Jo asked looking down at her wet self.

"Sorry, well I am afraid you're going to have to leave your apartment, the guy above you left his bath running and you could be at risk of it….." he went to say but was cut short by the bathtub itself crashing through into her apartment and into her living room.

"Ahhhhhh!" Jo screamed, in fear and frustration.

"I'm sorry Ma'am I should have come a bit sooner, the fact he left his water running, meant that yours got backed up and then caused the burst pipe. I'm afraid you're going to have to leave your apartment for a few days." The janitor said.

"Errr you think?" Jo said getting more frustrated.

"Do you have somewhere you can stay?" the janitor asked her.

"Yeah she can stay with me." Mac said stepping forward and offering his jacket to a now shivering Jo.

"Oh Mac I can't stay with you, I don't want to be a nuisance, I'll just check into a hotel." Jo said thankful for Mac's generosity as she was now rather cold.

"What on Thanksgiving, I don't think so Jo, they'll all be full, go grab a bag of stuff, you can stay at mine…I'm not arguing about it, go on." Mac said turning her towards her bedroom.

"Ok…thank you, oh my god Mac the party, we're going to be really late!" Jo said getting worried.

"Don't worry about it; I'll call Sheldon now and say we're gunna be a bit late." Mac said picking his phone out of his pocket.

Half an hour later Jo was changed into another dress, and had dried her hair and re-applied her makeup. She was in Mac's SUV, and they were headed towards his apartment.

"Oh Mac, I can't believe what a disaster this has been, my poor apartment!" Jo said sighing sadly,

"It'll be ok Jo, the guy's insurance will pay for any of the damage." Mac said reaching across and taking her hand in his, something that instantly calmed her down.

"I know, it's just it's Thanksgiving, I did not see myself having to deal with plumbers and builders for the next few weeks!" Jo said sadly.

"Well you won't have to, you'll be at mine where you can relax and we can go and check on them whenever you want, just to make sure they're doing what you want, ok?" Mac said rubbing her hand with his thumb.

"Ok, thanks for this Mac, oh I need to call Mom and Ellie and tell them what's happened." Jo said reaching for her phone in her bag.

"Is Ellie ok, you said she was ill?" Mac asked her concerned.

"Yeah she's ok, she's got the flu, and seen as we're so busy at work at the moment Mom came and got her and took her back to DC with her, she was always a better nurse then I was anyway." Jo said laughing.

A few minutes later they arrived at Mac's apartment. Jo had just finished on the phone to her Mom and Ellie, and was now outside Mac's apartment waiting for him to unlock it. He unlocked the door and let her walk in first.

"Wow, you've got a really nice place Mac, it's very you!" Jo said smiling at him.

"What do you mean by that?" Mac asked chuckling.

"Well it's very masculine but has a soft edge to it too." Jo said laughing at what she'd just said.

"Ok…well I'll show you to your room where you can unpack your stuff then we'll head over to Sheldon's.

Mac showed her to the spare room and let her quickly unpack whilst he sat on the couch and waited for her. If anyone had told him today would have ended up like this he'd have laughed, but now it had he was happy she was here, he would have someone to talk to and to eat dinner with, all the things he'd missed the last ten years since he'd lost Claire.

He shook that thought out of his mind and waited for Jo to come back through to the living room. Jo was going to be staying with him. Jo as in the woman he'd become very close to the last few months, Jo as in the woman he knew he was falling for….suddenly he felt a bit dizzy, was it excitement or nerves? He didn't know, but he was looking forward to finding out.


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

It was now past midnight and Mac and Jo were just arriving back at his apartment. They had quite a lot to drink but weren't drunk, just very giggly, much to the cab drivers dismay on the journey back.

"Well that was a fantastic Thanksgiving!" Jo gushed as they both crashed down onto his couch.

"Yeah it was great wasn't it? Do you want a coffee or something stronger?" Mac asked her.

"No coffee will be great thanks." Jo responded. She laid her head back onto the back of the couch and yawned.

"Tired?" Mac asked her smiling at her from the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's been quite a day! Can you believe Sheldon and Camille are getting married?" Jo said excitedly.

"I know! It's great, about time; I like her. I did think she was leading him astray to begin with, but I like her now, they're good for each other." Mac said placing two coffees down on the table.

"That's only because she let you have the last slice of pumpkin pie, anyone would think she's agreed to have your babies!" Jo laughed, reaching forward and grabbing a coffee, loving how its warmth spread through her body.

"You're just jealous!" Mac said teasing her.

"Of what exactly, the fact that she practically agreed to have your children or the fact that you got the last slice of pie?" Jo said laughing.

"Take your pick." Mac said nudging her.

"No comment." Jo said trying not to smirk.

"Mmm well I don't believe you. Well it seems you girls had a good night anyway, busy planning the bachelorette party?" Mac asked resting back into the couch.

"Yeah we were throwing some ideas around, apparently the invite will arrive sometime this week, the girl works fast!" Jo said chuckling.

"Well she'll have to if they're going to get married on New Year's Eve!" Mac said looking worried.

"Oh relax Mac, it's called being romantic, it'll be amazing, and you guys need to get your heads together for his bachelor party, any ideas yet?" Jo asked him, moving her legs up so she could cuddle up on the couch and was now facing him.

"Well apart from jetting out to Vegas and spending an obscene amount of money, no nothing yet, and that was Danny's idea by the way!" Mac said grinning at her.

"Oh lord I never would have guessed!" She said grinning back.

"I had fun tonight, although it took us a while to get there." Mac said sipping his coffee.

"Yeah well I had fun too and thanks for sitting next to me, Camille's grandfather was getting a bit too close for comfort at one point, I'm sure he was playing footsie with me under the dinner table!" Jo said shivering in repulsion.

"How do you know that wasn't me?" Mac asked her seriously.

"Well...was it you?" Jo asked him smiling.

"No comment!" Mac answered her.

"Hey you, don't throw that one back at me Taylor." Jo said picking up a cushion and throwing it at him, narrowly missing his coffee.

"Hey! You're gunna regret that missy!" Mac said settling his coffee back down on the table and picking a bigger cushion up, this time hitting her with it rather than throwing it.

"That's not fair, I threw mine, I didn't use it as a weapon" Jo said through laughter as she armed herself with another cushion, this time hitting him back.

Before they knew it they were in a full-scale pillow fight, chasing each other around the room. Mac hid in the kitchen whilst Jo crept round the apartment trying to find him.

"Come out come out wherever you are! You can't hide from me!" Jo sang as she slowly entered the kitchen.

"Boo!" Mac said as he jumped out from behind the refrigerator, making Jo scream and run back into the living room, with Mac hot on her tail. He chased her and as she tripped up on her shoes and began to fall, Mac grabbed her hand to try and stop her from falling but he only ended up falling with her, and they landed on top of each other on the couch., with Mac on top of her, looking down into her eyes, both of them fighting for breath through the laughter.

"Well this is a different side to the Detective Taylor I know!" Jo said once she began to breathe steadily again, getting lost in his eyes.

"Is it a side you like?" Mac asked the flirtatious tone they were used to re-emerging again.

"Oh very much so." Jo said mirroring his smile.

Before they could say anything Jo's phone began to ring, breaking the spell of their fixed stares into each other's eyes.

Mac rolled off her and allowed her to sit back up again and retrieve her phone from her bag. She looked at him once more before she answered it.

"Hey sweetie, yes I'm fine, did Ellie call you? I couldn't get hold of you earlier." Jo said smiling down the phone. Mac just looked at her as she walked around the room, obviously talking to Tyler. He heard the young man mumble something then Jo answered.

"No I'm fine baby I'm staying with Mac for a few days, am I going to see you tomorrow?...Yes usual place, ok honey I'll meet you at about 10.30, I love you too, bye." Jo said as she shut her phone.

"Tyler?" Mac asked her.

"Yeah, we always meet for breakfast every Sunday, he was just making sure that was still on and that I was ok after the bath incident." Jo chuckled.

"Sounds nice, I'm meeting the guys for basketball tomorrow morning anyway." Mac answered, hoping she didn't feel too awkward about what could have happened a few minutes ago.

"Well that sounds good too, although anything too strenuous on a Sunday morning doesn't sound that appealing…I better get to bed, been an eventful day an all." Jo said sighing, he felt awkward, she just knew it!

"Ok well, do you have everything you need?" Mac asked her as he collected the coffee cups up and took them through to the kitchen.

"Yeah I think I do…night." Jo said as they shared one more long glance before she retreated to her room.

"Night" Mac responded. They both walked into their respective bedrooms, both shutting the door and collapsing back onto their beds with a huge sigh.

They both just laid there for a few minutes with only one thing on their minds, what would have happened if Tyler hadn't called? And were they ready to make that step?


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three

It was now Sunday and Jo was getting ready to go and meet Tyler for breakfast. She was hoping to be able to talk to Mac about what may have happened the night before, but she'd already heard him leave to meet the guys for basketball earlier on.

She sat back down on the bed and sighed. What was she doing? One minute they were having a nice chat over coffee and the next they were chasing each other around the apartment and nearly kissing! She couldn't help but feel awkward over the whole thing, but not because it would have been wrong, but because she couldn't shake the feeling that she wanted Mac to kiss her.

"Oh god!" Jo said throwing herself back on the bed.

"What am I doing?"

She slowly got back up again and grabbed her leather jacket and her bag making sure she had her keys, and then walked through the apartment. She was just about to leave when she spotted a note on the side in the kitchen. She walked over to it and picked it up, reading it aloud to herself.

_Jo, hope you have a nice time with Tyler this morning,_

_i've been thinking about last night a lot and maybe when_

_you get back we can talk? I just don't want things to be_

_awkward between us._

_Mac_

Jo smiled once she'd finished, she didn't want things to be awkward between them either, although she still felt nervous at the prospect of talking to Mac about it, did he feel the same that she did? Or did he just want to cover the whole thing up and forget about it? She'd just have to wait until later.

Jo left the apartment and walked the short distance to the diner where she met Tyler for breakfast every Sunday. She waved at the owner as she walked in, and saw Tyler waiting at their regular table for her.

"Hey gorgeous boy!" Jo said kissing her son on the cheek.

"Hey Mom, you look nice!" Tyler sad handing her a menu as she sat own opposite him in the booth.

"Do I? Tyler I don't look any different." Jo said chuckling.

"Oh well it must be because you're just so happy to be with your favourite child!" Tyler said cheekily.

"Hey, poor Ellie, you love your sister!" Jo said smiling. She loved her daughter obviously, but she did love spending time with Tyler, just the two of them.

"Yeah well I don't love her when she steals all my food, will be nice to eat my breakfast without her fork appearing in my eye line heading for my plate!" Tyler said laughing.

"Agreed, so how's college, you working hard?" Jo asked her only son.

"Yeah it's great, really hard some days but I love it". Tyler answered. Tyler had been at NYU for nearly a year now studying Law.

"God I remember how hard college was, all those really hard books, it'll all be worth it in the end honey." Jo said smiling lovingly at her boy.

"Well I hope so…anyway enough about me, how is it living with the boss?" Tyler said changing the subject.

"It's fine, it was so sweet of him to offer, lord Tyler, you should see the mess the apartment is in, it's a nightmare!" Jo said sighing sadly.

"It won't take them long to fix it though will it?" Tyler asked, signalling for the waitress to come and take their order.

"I hope not, Ellie will just have to stay at Grandma's till it's done, although with her flu she won't be going back to school any time soon anyway." Jo said finally deciding on what she was going to have.

"Well at least you get on well with Mac, it's not like you'll be arguing all the time, and from what I've heard from Dad, Mac will enjoy having you around!" Tyler said.

"Woah, what do you mean? What has your Dad being saying now?" Jo asked getting irritated now, why was Russ always trying to cause trouble?

"He just said that Mac seemed very interested in you but don't worry Mom, I know what dad is like, I don't take what he says seriously." Tyler said reaching over and taking her hand.

"Ok…but seriously, he thinks Mac is interested in me?" Jo asked him.

"Yeah, and going by how squeaky your voice just went maybe he was right…do you like Mac Mom?" Tyler whispered cheekily.

"Hey! Mac and I are just friends; it would be very unprofessional of us to be together." Jo said getting more and more nervous as the conversation went on and this was only with Tyler, she still had to have the 'talk' with Mac later on!

"Well that's very business-like of you Mom, but you didn't really answer my question did you?" Tyler asked chuckling at how nervous his Mom was.

Jo didn't really know what to say, so she just stayed quiet.

"Look…I love you Mom and if you want to be with Mac or you are even contemplating being with him in any way I am all behind it. I like Mac, and from the way he reacted when Dad turned up with me at the lab that time, I'd say he likes you too." Tyler said smiling at his Mom.

"God you are the most amazing boy!" Jo said taking his hand again, holding it tight between hers.

"Well you're an amazing Mom, and you deserve to be happy." Tyler said, hoping he had put her mind at rest a bit.

"Thank you sweetie, but I don't really know what's happening between me and Mac at the moment, it's all a bit complicated." Jo said sighing.

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure you'll sort it out, do you want to order? I'm starving!" Tyler said saying what he wanted to the waitress who'd come over to their table.

A few hours later, Jo was back at Mac's apartment and was now relaxing on the couch flicking though the cable channels. Well trying to relax, she couldn't help but feel nervous at the prospect of Mac coming back and them having to talk about last night! The more she thought about the more irrational her thoughts were becoming, what if he even asked her to move out, and then where would she go? She shook herself then went to go and make herself a coffee. She walked to the kitchen but stopped in her tracks when she saw Mac's sneakers and bag on the floor by the door. How had she missed that? He was already back! That's when she heard the water in the shower running then being turned off. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't see Mac was already back, and in the shower no less! She was just about to go and sit back down on the couch when she heard Mac exit the bathroom.

"Jo? Is that you?" Mac called from the hallway.

"Yeah it's me; sorry I didn't know you were back." Jo said sitting down on the couch and tucking her legs underneath her.

"That's ok… good breakfast? Mac asked as he entered the living room.

Jo turned around to answer him and was met by Mac standing in the door way dressed only in a towel around his waist, with his toned chest on show.

"Umm…yeah…it was great, Tyler says hi by the way." Jo said stuttering over her words. Man that guy looked good in hardly any clothes!

"Good, I'll just go and get dressed then we can talk yeah?" Mac said heading towards his bedroom, leaving Jo alone with her thoughts.

All Jo could do was sigh shakily and lay back on the couch.

"Wow!" she mouthed quietly.

Please review, I love reading them xxx


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, no excuses apart from that I have been lazy haha! Hope you all enjoy this update, and please review because I love reading them xx**

**Part Four**

It wasn't long before Mac reappeared from his room, having thrown a t shirt and jeans on, much to Jo's disgust but relief at the same time. Having Mac discuss what happened/didn't happen on the very sofa she was sitting on, in just a towel was only going to make her nerves even worse, not to mention the blush that was all over her body and hadn't gone down just as bad.

He grabbed a coffee for himself and went and sat down on the sofa next to Jo with a heavy sigh.

"Good run?" Jo asked trying to change the ever looming subject.

"Yeah not too bad did about 10 miles….ok Jo about last night…" Mac started but was cut off by Jo.

"Look Mac, you don't have to say it, we were both just mucking around and one thing led…or didn't lead to another…it's no big deal…and anyway nothing really happened did it!" Jo said stopping when she realised she was rambling.

"No I suppose it didn't, I just don't want things to be weird between us, you know with having to live under the same roof and everything…so we're ok yeah?" Mac said smiling at her and the blatant blush that was spreading up her neck.

"Yeah of course we are…come here!" Jo said opening up her arms to hug him. He closed the gap between them with a smile and held her close, getting a mind spinning smell of her perfume as it enclosed him under her spell. They were interrupted by the door bell ringing.

"I'll get that." Mac said reluctantly pulling away from her. He had no idea who it would be, they hadn't ordered any food and they weren't expecting anyone, but he could not believe his eyes when he opened the door to a half-naked man, dressed only in a bow tie around his neck and a pair of very tight black shorts. Jo instantly stood up in surprise and walked over to the door to join a stunned Mac.

"Ummm can we help you?" Mac asked totally gobsmacked.

"Are you Jo Danville?" The man asked Jo, completely ignoring Mac.

"Err yeah" Jo said trying not to laugh.

"I am here to invite you to Camille's bachelorette party, here is your invitation, and I am Joe, I will be your personal butler on the night, I look forward to being at your beck and call on night, enjoy your evening." The gorgeous man said with a wink at Jo, which instantly made Mac clench up with anger.

"Oh..my..god!" was all Jo could say.

"He was…gorgeous!" Jo said walking back into the apartment and sat down on the couch, opening the red invitation, which burst with red glitter and feathers when she tore open the envelope.

"If you think so Jo." Mac said shutting the door.

"Oh come on Mac, it's just a bit of fun!" Jo said laughing.

"Well I think that man must feel very degraded having to walk around the city dressed like that! And what was all that about being your beck and call all night? What the hell does that mean?" Mac said trying to look at the invitation, but couldn't because Jo whipped it away when she saw him trying to peek at it.

"I am guessing that he will be fetching me drinks whenever I want and I don't know, just answering to my every request, they get paid a lot money to do it, so don't worry about him feeling degraded I am sure he is just fine with it all!" Jo said chuckling.

"Mmm well I am not sure about this, sounds all a bit cheap to me!" Mac said running out of excuses, why was he acting like this, she was a grown woman going out as part of a group to a bachelorette party…except there would most probably be men there eyeing her up all night, perfectly single men who would be mad not to look at Jo, because she would undoubtedly look stunning, as per usual! 'Snap out of it Mac!' He chastised himself.

"Oh and you guys going to a strip club for Sheldon's bachelor party won't be cheap! How is it not cheap leering at those women all night huh?" Jo said propositioning him. He was so jealous it was obvious! That guy was gorgeous, but way too young for her, he was probably not much older than Tyler, but it was still fun winding him up, especially as he wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it.

"Who said we were going to a strip club anyway? Oh Danny hasn't organised that has he!" Mac said moaning.

"No I don't know what you guys are doing, but that's the usual thing to do at a bachelor party isn't it? Throw ones at girls so thin they could pass out at any moment?" Jo said enjoying watching Mac squirm.

"Not my kind of bachelor party anyway!" Mac said laying his head down on the back of the couch and sighing.

"Well that's good to know…you know I didn't really fancy that guy don't you?" Jo said leaning her head on her hand so she was looking down at Mac's face.

"Didn't you?" he said looking up into her eyes, he tried not to sound too hopeful, they only just discussed the near miss they'd had only a matter of minutes ago, but he couldn't help the stirring he got in his stomach whenever she looked deep into his eyes.

"No, he's far too young for me, plus I don't really the idea of having someone at my beck and call all night, it all sounds a bit weird to me to be honest." Jo said smiling at him.

"Well I am sure you'll all have a great time, but let me know if he tries anything funny!" Mac said winking at her, a gesture that made her go weak at the knees even though she was sitting down.

"Shall I send you a text if I need rescuing?" Jo said laughing.

"Definitely, although I don't think you'll need it." Mac said smiling at her.

"Right I better go and pick a dress, there's only a few more days left until the big night, shall we order in tonight? You choose." Jo said, quickly hurrying off before she weakened anymore around Mac.

Mac smiled at her as she left the living room and went to her room. Why was it that he always found it so easy to be around her yet so difficult to not reach out and touch her? He sighed with frustration then picked up the phone to order a pizza, maybe he could use the food and that night's game to distract him from his new housemate, he very much doubted it though!

That evening Mac and Jo were watching the game. They had finished the pizza and were now relaxing on the couch next to each other. Jo had got changed and was now in her Alabama University t-shirt and pyjama shorts, an ensemble that made the hairs on the back of Mac's neck stand up, especially when she stretched her long, lithe legs out on the coffee table in front of her.

"Well this game is a disappointment!" Jo said yawning.

"Mmm well they're not doing too badly; got a while to go yet…do you want the last breadstick?" Mac asked picking it up and handing it to her.

"Thanks." Jo said breaking it in half and handing him the other half with a smile, which he matched with a chuckle.

"Good choice on the pizza by the way, thanks for remembering I hate olives!" Jo said nudging his foot with hers and stifling another yawn.

"That's ok, I hate them too…come here." Mac said opening out his arm to her, Jo smiled at him then shuffled up so snuggle up next to him; resting her head on his chest and instantly relaxing as his arm wrapped around her and held her close.

"You tired?" Mac asked her, feeing her warm breath tingle his skin as she breathed.

"Exhausted, brunch with my favourite boy then a gorgeous man turns up at the door wearing next to nothing; it's been a busy day!" Jo chuckled.

"I bet it has." Mac said laughing with her.

"I don't think I can stay awake for the rest of the game." Jo said sleepily.

"That's ok, I'm here, you go to sleep." Mac told her, running his hand through her soft hair when he felt her become heavier upon him as she finally succumbed to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry guys! I have started a new job in the city and what with Christmas shoppers and everything it's been mental! So sorry I haven't updated in ages! Here's the next bit.**

**Part 5**

It was now a week later and the night of Camille and Sheldon's Bachelorette and Bachelor party. Both Mac and Jo had no idea where the other party was going or what their night had in store.

"Do you wanna share a cab?" Mac called from his room.

"No thanks, Camille has cars for all of us to be picked up in and taken to the venue; mine will be arriving in a minute." Jo said putting the finishing touches to her make up. Where are you guys headed tonight?" Jo asked him.

"I have no idea, Hawkes just told us to meet him at Delaney's at 8pm, how about you?" Mac asked as he emerged from his room and walked to the kitchen to get a beer from the refrigerator.

"I have no idea either, it's all a big secret, wherever it is, I'm sure it'll be an interesting night." Jo said chuckling as she came out of her room. Mac was leaning up against the breakfast counter, and almost stumbled when he saw how beautiful Jo looked. She was wearing a red satin bandage dress that had a black lace belt around her waist which matched her heels. Her hair was down as usual but she looked amazing.

"Wow!" was all Mac could muster; he was totally lost for words.

"Well thank you so much!" Jo giggled.

"You don't look too bad yourself."

Mac was wearing a suit, but not one of his usual work suits. This one was a tuxedo but without the tie, and his shirt was slightly open, so Jo could only imagine what he looked like underneath!

"Well we sure scrub up well don't we?" Mac chuckled.

"We sure do. You got another one of those?" She asked, pointing at his beer.

"Yeah sure." Mac said as he retrieved another beer from the kitchen.

They both sat down at Mac's breakfast bar and discussed the impending evening.

"So are you ready for a night of madness and drinking?" Jo said smiling at him.

"Not really, you know me, I hate all this stuff, but it's for Hawkes so I suppose I can pretend!" Mac said chuckling.

"Well as long as we're agreed, when either one of us had had enough we text the other one to rescue us yes?" Jo said.

"Definitely, make sure your cell is on, I have a feeling I may be using it quicker than I thought." Mac said taking another sip of beer. They were interrupted by the intercom buzzing.

"That'll be my car picking me up. Well, have a good night, don't drink too much and don't do anything bad with the stripper!" Jo said laughing as she got up, revealing a bit more leg than usual, much to Mac's distraction.

"Oh I think I will be able to hold myself back!" Mac joked

"Have a good night too and be…."

"Be careful, yes I know Mac, you know you really have to stop worrying, we will be fine, and if we're not I'll set Lindsey on them!" Jo said smiling at him.

She grabbed her bag and made sure she had her keys, money and cell phone, then walked back over to Mac.

"Right, well I will see you later…." Jo said reluctant to leave.

"Yeah see you later, I am sure I'll be texting you in a few hours anyway" Mac said smiling cheekily.

Jo laughed out loud, a sound Mac soon realised he would never tire of hearing. Then she did something unexpected, she leant in and kissed him on the cheek.

"Night Mac." Jo whispered in his ear, and then walked out of the apartment, leaving Mac stuck to the spot. His cheek tingled where her lips had touched him and he felt a little dizzy.

"What is with me? I'm behaving like a teenager!" Mac thought to himself.

A few hours later Jo and the girls were dancing the night way in some fancy club they had VIP tickets for. Jo was sat in a booth with Lindsey and Camille's sister Cassie talking about the wedding and sipping on the cocktails that their 'butler boys' had brought for them.

"Camille is gunna look so beautiful! So much nicer than I did on mine…but then I was the size of a whale!" Lindsey shouted over the music.

"No, I bet you looked gorgeous!" Jo shouted back

"Man this music is loud!"

"It's the in thing now, have the music so high no one can talk, just buy more drinks and dance!" Lindsey said.

The girls continued to talk for most of the evening; they discussed the wedding plans to where Hawkes and Camille were going to on their honeymoon. Jo was listening and would add a comment here and there, but most of the time she was thinking about Mac and what the guys were up to. She looked at her phone and noticed there were no SOS messages of any kind, so he must be having a good time.

"You ok?" Cassie asked her.

"I've got a bit of a head ache; think I may go get some air." Jo answered as she grabbed her coat and bag and headed towards the door. She didn't want to, but she got her phone out of her bag again and looked at it, still nothing. So she decided to text him, just see what he was up to if anything else. She was nearing the door and looking at her phone at the same time, the next thing she realised was that she was bumping into someone and boy was it gunna hurt!

"Oh my god I am so sorry!" the man said as they both hit into each other, he grabbed her around the waist to steady themselves.

"That's ok, it was all my fault, I wasn't…Mac!" Jo said as she looked up to see the man in question.

"Jo! What are you doing here?" he asked her, his hands still on her waist.

"This is where we're having Camille's bachelorette party, what are you doing here?" Jo asked him in surprise, was that Mac's hands on her middle that she felt?

"Danny got us all in the Midnight Lounge, you girls in there?" Mac asked pointing to the adjoining club.

"Yeah, although it's so loud in there I can hardly think straight…I was coming out t text you actually, see if you needed saving." Jo chuckled placing her hand on his chest. 'Man he is strong under that shirt' she thought to herself as her hand made contact with his chest.

"Oh really? Well I was coming out to text you…small world huh?" Mac smiled down at her, why was it he couldn't bring himself to remove his hands from her waist?

"Not having a good time?" Jo asked him returning the smile.

"No it's great, just not my kind of scene that's all…you wanna get out of here?" Mac asked her taking her coat out of her hands and helping her put it on, taking the time to move her soft hair out from under the collar.

"Sure, I'll text Lindsey and say I've got a head ache and that I'm leaving." She smiled at him as he guided her out of the club.

They walked down the street, taking in the fresh air and making their way through the crowds.

"So what do you fancy doing?" Mac asked as they carried on walking in no particular direction.

"Anything, as long as it doesn't involve crowds and loud music." Jo said chuckling.

"Well I have the perfect place." Mac said taking her hand and crossing the street towards Central Park.


	6. Chapter 6

Part Six

**Hey guys, thanks for all your reviews, I seem to be terrible and updating at the moment! Anyway, this is just a filler chapter really, so sorry if it's a bit boring, the next chapter will skip forward a few weeks to Christmas, and then shortly after that it'll be Hawkes and Camille's wedding and New Year's Eve, will Mac and Jo give into their ever stirring feelings for each other, you'll just to wait and see hehe xxxx**

_They walked down the street, taking in the fresh air and making their way through the crowds._

"_So what do you fancy doing?" Mac asked as they carried on walking in no particular direction._

"_Anything, as long as it doesn't involve crowds and loud music." Jo said chuckling._

"_Well I have the perfect place." Mac said taking her hand and crossing the street towards Central Park._

They walked through Central Park, until they reached a clearing where there was a fork in the path. Mac stopped with Jo coming to a halt next to him.

"Mac, where are we going?" Jo said looking at him.

"I am just trying to remember which way it is, ummmm." Mac said looking around him for a clue to help him.

"Why don't we just go back, it's freezing out here?" Jo said hopping up and down gently to try and get warm.

"Ok, I think it's this way." Mac said taking her hand again and leading the way down the path.

"I always forget how beautiful the park is this time of year." Jo said looking at all the fairy lights in the trees.

"Yeah it's great isn't it! God you really are cold!" Mac said noticing how cold her hand was in his.

"Well if you've failed to notice Mac, I'm not wearing a lot!" Jo said referring to her tight fitting red dress and just her coat over the top.

Mac thought to himself 'of course I've noticed, how could I not notice, you look amazing!" Jo pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Earth to Mac Taylor!" Jo said chuckling when he finally made eye contact with her, smirking at the thought of his eyes all over her, clearly admiring her attire.

"Come on it's just over there." Mac said walking towards a lit booth in the middle of the park.

"What is, where are we going?" Jo said chuckling at his eagerness.

"You'll find out, now you can't let the others know about this place, it's our little secret ok?" Mac said smiling at her.

"Err ok, Mac what are you up to?" Jo said moving the hair out of her face.

"This is my friend Tommy's place, he sells…." Mac said before he was cut off with an excited Jo.

"Ice Cream! Oh my god, how did I not know about this place?" Jo asked him walking up to the kiosk.

"I hope you're not too cold for ice cream, but Tommy here will pretty much have any flavour you can think of." Mac said pulling a stall out for her to sit on.

"Oh it's never too cold for ice cream Mac… which ones are good?" Jo said looking at all the tubs of brightly colours ice creams.

"They're all good aren't they Tommy?" Mac asked his friend as he approached the two of them.

"They sure are, only the best here Mac…good to see you again my friend." He said smiling and shaking his hand.

"Good to see you too, this is my friend Jo Danville, she works at the crime lab with me." Mac said introducing her to Tommy.

"Ahh I was just about to ask who this beautiful lady is…nice to meet you Jo, I hope Mac here is treating you tonight." Tommy said winking at her.

"Of course, ever the gentlemen aren't you Mac?" Jo said looking at him and smiling.

All Mac could do was smile back at her and take his seat on the stall next to her.

"So what are you going to have? I would very highly recommend the red velvet cheesecake and the vanilla bean one." Mac said taking a menu and passing it to her.

"Well I'll have that one then, seen as you have tried and tested it, and a hot chocolate to warm me up!" Jo said smiling at Tommy as she looked up from the menu.

"Coming up angel, how about you Mac?" Tommy said stirring some hot chocolate on the stove.

"I'll have the same actually, so….how have you been Tommy?" Mac asked him rubbing his hands together to warm them up.

"Oh not too bad Mac, can't complain, Laura is in remission now so we're all a lot better thanks." Tommy said putting the hot chocolates down in front of them,

"What kind of cancer did she have, if you don't mind me asking?" Jo said wrapping her cold hand around the hot mug.

"Ovarian, had it five years ago and she beat it, but then it came back with a vengeance last year. Been a year from hell but we're through it now, she's a fighter my Laura." Tommy said smiling at Jo's concerned face.

"They've been married 32 years this year, picture of happiness those two!" Mac told Jo.

"32 years! Wow that is amazing, wish I'd made it that far!" Jo said chuckling.

"Now that does surprise me, a gorgeous thing like you being single, does it you Mac?" Tommy said winking at him.

"Yeah, something like that." Mac said clearing his throat awkwardly.

"I always did know how to tease you didn't I Taylor? We were in the Marines together Jo, always had each other's backs when we got into a spot of trouble." Tommy said

"Ahh I was wondering how you knew each other, bit of a leap to ice cream isn't it?" Jo chuckled.

"This used to be my Grandfather's business, been here for 58 years, he passed it on to me and I'll pass it on to my Grandson. My son Jake and his lovely wife are expecting a baby boy in the Spring, so I will have it all ready for him when he wants to take over from me." Tommy said smiling.

"Oh well that's lovely, you must be very excited?" Jo asked him, finally feeling the warmth coming back into her fingers.

"Excited doesn't even cut it, I am ecstatic! Right, I will leave you two to it, I better serve these customers." Tommy said shaking hands with Mac one more time then leaving them to serve the two passers-by,

"So…what do you think of the ice cream?" Mac asked her.

"Heavenly, and this hot coco is going down very nicely thank you." Jo said smiling sweetly.

"Good, are you warming up, maybe ice cream 2 weeks before Christmas wasn't the best idea in the world." Mac said sheepishly.

"Oh Mac it's a lovely idea, thank you for bringing me here, but I hate to admit it, but I can't feel my legs anymore!" Jo said laughing.

"Well you will parade around New York City in a knee length dress in the middle of winter!" Mac said pulling her stall closer to his,

"I didn't know I'd be leaving the club… and what are you doing?" Jo asked intrigued as to why he was pulling her closer.

"I'm pulling you closer to me, to keep you warm, do you have any objections?" he asked teasingly. He took hold of her long toned legs, swallowing hard to control his emotions, and placed them on the rung of his stall between his legs, wrapping the bottom of his long winter coat he had on around them, so they were now facing each other.

"Not at all Detective." Jo smiled back from under her eye lashes.

"Well good, can't have you getting cold now can we?" Mac said fighting the urge to rub her knee.

"No we can't…thanks for rescuing me tonight Mac, and bringing me here it's been great, very very cold but great." Jo said smiling at him, something that sent shivers down Mac's spine and he didn't think it was down to the winter air.

"So what are your plans for Christmas?" Mac asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well we'll be going to my Mama's in DC, she was going to come here but she's just moved house and I think she wants to do all the house up for us, so we're going there, how about you?" Jo asked him, placing her cup down on the counter next to her and in the process rubbing her knee up against Macs.

"I will be going to my Moms too, a few of my cousins will there, so that'll be good." Mac said

"I just hope my apartment is ready when I get back." Jo said sighing.

"I'm sure it will be…living with me hasn't been too painful has it?" Mac asked smiling.

"Not at all, I am very much enjoying myself, I would just like a date when it'll all be finished, especially for Ellie, I think being with her Grandmother all day every day is driving her crazy." Jo said laughing.

"Oh I'm sure she's having a great time, apart from having the flu I suppose, and I am sure your Mom is great, if she's anything like you that is." Mac said, looking down at his mug when he realised what he'd said.

Jo couldn't help but grin at what she'd just heard Mac say, she leant forwards and kissed him on the cheek.

"You're so sweet sometimes Mac Taylor." Jo said biting her lip, hoping Mac wouldn't mind that she'd just kissed him.

"Well I try my best...I'm guessing you haven't had someone call you great in a while then?" Mac asked her, hoping that he wasn't blushing.

"No I haven't unless you count my kids." Jo said happily, the mere mention of Tyler and Ellie would reduce her to a smiling wreck.

"Well I suppose that does count…are you ready to walk back? The walk may warm us up a bit." Mac asked, standing up and holding out his hand to help her down off the stall.

"Sounds good to me, bye Tommy." She said to him as they walked away.

"Bye guys, see you again soon." Tommy said as he waved to them, thinking to himself that Mac may have found himself a keeper in Jo.

They walked back through Central Park talking and laughing about events of the week, neither of them realising they were still holding hands.

"So come on Mac, describe the worst date you've ever been on." Jo said walking along with him slowly.

"Oh you don't want to know about that…what am I talking about, of course you want to hear about that!" Mac said laughing.

"Of course I do, it's fun, makes me feel not so bad about my disastrous dating attempts, so come on Taylor, spill." She said looking at him.

"Ok…well I was at college, it must have been a few months before I met Claire, but I was going out on a date with a girl in my halls and let's just say I was not feeling well at all, I had a stinking cold but didn't want to let her down, so I went any way, and it didn't go well." Mac started.

"Oh I can't wait to hear this one!" Jo laughed.

"Well we went out, had a really nice dinner, had a really good time actually, but then when I went to kiss her on cheek goodnight, I sneezed all over her face!" Mac said cringing at the memory.

"Oh my god!" Jo said bursting out laughing

"That is amazing, I've never heard that one before, what did she do?"

"She laughed actually, which I wasn't expecting, we didn't go out again but she ended up marrying my friend who I shared a dorm with, so I suppose it ended up ok in the end." Mac said laughing along with Jo who was now hysterical.

"Wow, well that was a good one; I can no way compete with that!" Jo said.

"Go on, try" Mac said as he stopped walking and locked eyes with her.

"Ok, well it wasn't long after I'd split up with Russ, my friend Sarah set me up with this guy she knew, and I tell you what after that, I will never go on a blind date again. Anyway this guy introduced himself and within a second of me saying my name he grabbed me and full on kissed me, tongues and all! I mean what the hell, what made him think he could do that?" Jo said laughing.

"Well, yeah that is different, what did you do?" Mac asked her, shocked that anyone could do that, especially to her.

"I pushed him away of course, turned around and left." Jo said beginning to walk further down the path, with Mac following her. He caught up with her and his breath caught in his throat when she reached down and took his hand in hers again.

"Well it's his loss, if he hadn't have been so stupid then he may have had the chance to really get to know you, and I consider that a real privilege." Mac said rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Oh you are being super sweet tonight, rescuing me from a busy night club, buying me amazing ice cream and hot chocolate and no less than two compliments, all in one evening, I am a lucky girl!" Jo said smiling across at him.

"You're welcome, glad you enjoyed the evening, we should do it again sometime, just not the whole nightclub thing first." Mac suggested.

"Yeah I'd like that, except next time I take you to my favourite secret place." Jo said striking up a deal.

"I'll hold you to that." He said smiling at her as they continued to walk back to his apartment.

When they got back it was almost 2 am and they were both very tired. Jo went into her room and changed whilst Mac got them a drink. When he'd made it he took into her, knocking before he entered the room.

"Come in." Jo called from inside.

"Here you go, hey you like that sky light huh?" Mac asked her, seeing she was laid back on the bed looking up into the night sky.

"Oh my god Mac it's amazing! I can see the stars, you hardly ever see the stars here in the City, here lay down take a look." Jo said patting the bed next to her.

Mac would have usually declined, telling her he'd already seen them and retreated back to his room, but he had so much fun with her that night he didn't want to leave her just yet, so he put the glasses of water down and went an laid down next to her, looking up at the stars.

"Wow, they're pretty special aren't they?" Mac said looking across at her.

"Yeah, when I was a kid I used to lie out on the grass in my back yard and look up at them all the time, I miss doing that." Jo sighed.

"Do you miss Mississippi much?" Mac asked her.

"Yeah all the time, I try to go back whenever I can though, I still have friends there." Jo said.

"When I go to Moms at Christmas it'll be the first time I've been back to Chicago in years!" Mac said, trying to remember the last time he'd been back to his home town, probably when he was dealing with the 3:33 caller.

"It's good going back to your roots, keeps you grounded." Jo said yawning.

"I'll leave you to go to sleep." Mac said going to get off the bed.

"No, stay, keep looking at the stars." Jo said trying to stay awake.

Mac turned his head and saw she had her eyes closed and was very nearly asleep, he reached over and brushed a strand of hair out of her face and stroked her cheek making her smile in her sleep.

"Night Mac." Jo said sighing contently.

"Night Jo." Mac said closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep too.


End file.
